Fired McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook is forced to pay back $105 million in severance over claims that he lied about affairs with employees

Former McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook will return his severance pay — a figure estimated to be around $105 million — to his former employer to settle a lengthy lawsuit over his sexual relationships with employees. "Last year, McDonald's filed an unprecedented lawsuit against Steve Easterbrook, our former CEO, to hold him accountable for his lies and misconduct, including the way in which he exploited his position as CEO," McDonald's chairman Rick Hernandez said in an internal note obtained by Insider.

 Hernandez expressed gratitude to an employee who "had the courage to speak up" about Easterbrook's misconduct. "Steve has returned equity awards and cash that he would have forfeited had he been truthful at the time of his termination and, as a result, been terminated for cause," he wrote. "While Steve's misconduct need not be forgiven by any member of this community, he has apologized to his former co-workers, franchisees, suppliers, and the Board for the profound errors he made."Amelia Lucas firt reported on the results of the fast food chain's battle against its ex-chief officer. Easterbrook lost the top job at McDonald's back in 2019 after the company found he "violated company policy and demonstrated poor judgment" involving a "consensual relationship" with an employee. At the time, investigators discovered that Easterbrook exchanged sexual texts and photos with a female employee. The fast food giant lost $4 billion in value in the wake of the scandal, as well as its chief people officer David Fairhurst. Questions about Easterbrook's severance arose early on. The ex-CEO was eligible for a minimum of $702,255 in severance. He ended up receiving around $105 million. But by August 2020, the conflict between McDonald's and its former leader heated up once more. The restaurant chain sued Easterbrook over allegations that he covered up sexual relationships with at least three McDonald's employees. Insider's Kate Taylor reported that Easterbrook and his friends became mainstays at Chicago's Viagra Triangle, an area where rich men go to pick up younger women, according to an ex-employee. In February 2021, one employee romantically connected to Easterbrook agreed to be deposed. Easterbrook also apologized to the board and his former employees. "During my tenure as CEO, I failed at times to uphold McDonald's values and fulfill certain [sic] of my responsibilities as a leader of the company," he said in the filing.